Day 3 of Digestive Distress and I am so Far Out of My Element – Please Help!

When I was trying to determine what “severe diarrhea” was defined as, medically, I couldn’t find anything. Seeing as how I have suffered from the exact opposite problem my whole life, I don’t exactly have a reference point. The Linzess says to stop taking it and contact your doctor if you have severe diarrhea. It’s to treat IBS-C. I see problems with this, in that most people that need medical intervention for constipation probably don’t really understand what qualifies. However, while I was trying to find a definition, I did find that you should seek medical help for diarrhea lasting for more than 3 days in an adult.

Today, I woke up completely exhausted, and decided to skip classes to recover my strength (my stomach didn’t hurt at 6am). Then I woke up again at 11a, and realized that my stomach hurt again and I was still exhausted. Sadly, I seem to once again have very watery diarrhea. Tuesday, when I had the watery diarrhea, was a Linzess day, and so is today. But I seemed to have adjusted to the Linzess and it wasn’t causing any problems for a week or two so I don’t know if that’s causing it or if it’s a coincidence? Ugh.

Tuesday, I had one non-watery diarrhea episode, and three watery diarrhea episodes. Yesterday, I had one non-watery diarrhea episode but could barely eat anything at all so nothing was in my system to pass through my intestines anyway. Today I have so far had one and I can tell in about two minutes I will need to rush to the restroom again for another episode of watery diarrhea. Does this count as three days?Why is medical intervention necessary after that long? I don’t have any signs of dehydration above anything that is normal for me (my lips are chapped, but they are almost always chapped; my skin isn’t dry and it is still completely elastic). I’m doing my best to drink fluids, but my belly is upset so I can’t do it too quickly or I feel like I’ll vomit. I see my GI doc on Wednesday. I just need to know if I should be calling my doc tomorrow morning or if I might be okay over the weekend. My Urgent Care centers can give IVs, so I don’t think I’ll have to end up in the ER if i get dehydrated. I’m just worried and very confused. Any advice?

*DISCLAIMER*

I AM NOT A DOCTOR!This blog seeks to provide basic information about conditions, and can be used as a tool to help guide your own research. NEVER proceed with new treatments or therapies without first consulting your doctor(s)!!!